Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday (September 10, 2024) used false claims that Haitian immigrants in Ohio kidnapped and ate animals, repeating his anti-immigrant rhetoric during a televised debate.
“There is no evidence that Haitian immigrants in Ohio communities are doing these things,” officials said. But during the debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, Mr. Trump specifically called Springfield, Ohio, the city at the center of the claims, saying that immigrants are taking over the city.
“He’s eating dog. They are eating cats. They eat the animals that live there,” he said.
Mrs. Harris called Mr Trump “extreme” and laughed after the comments. The moderator of the debate pointed out that city officials said the claim was untrue.
Mr Trump’s comments echoed statements made by his campaign, including his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, and other Republicans. The claim gained attention this week when Mr Vance posted on social media that his office had “received many inquiries” about Haitian migrants abducting pets. Mr Vance admitted on Tuesday (September 10) that it was possible that “all these rumors will be false.”
Officials said there was no reliable or detailed report on the claims, even as Mr. Trump and his allies used them to amplify racist stereotypes about black and brown immigrants.
As President, Mr Trump questioned why the US would accept people from countries such as Haiti and some in Africa. His 2024 campaign has focused heavily on illegal immigration, often referring in his speeches to crimes committed by migrants. He said immigrants are responsible for fueling crime and drug abuse in the United States and taking away resources from American citizens.
Here’s a closer look at how false claims have spread.
How did this start?
On September 6th, a post appeared on X showing what appeared to be a screengrab of a social media post apparently coming out of Springfield. The retweeted post told of the man’s “neighbor’s daughter’s friend” seeing a cat hanging from a tree to be slaughtered and eaten, claiming without evidence that a Haitian lived in the house. The photo below shows a black man carrying what appears to be a Canada goose. The post went viral on social media.
On Monday, Mr. Vance posted on X. “Reports now show that people have been kidnapped and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country. Where is our border tsar?” said. The next day, Vance posted again on X about Springfield, saying that his office had received inquiries from residents who said that “neighborhood pets or local wildlife were kidnapped by Haitian migrants. Of course, all of these rumors will turn out to be false. Another Republican shared a post that Among them was Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who posted a photo of a kitten with the caption “Being a Haitian immigrant doesn’t eat us.” Hours before Mr. Trump’s debate with Ms. Harris, he posted two related photos on social media site. One Truth Social post is a photo of Mr. Trump surrounded by a cat and a swan. Another armed cat wearing a MAGA hat.
What did the officials in Ohio say? Springfield city manager Bryan Heck’s office released a statement dispelling the rumors.
“In response to recent rumors that allege criminal activity by the immigrant population in our city, we want to clarify that there are no credible reports or specific claims about pets being harmed, harmed, or abused by individuals in the immigrant community,” Mr. Heck’s office said in an email statement.
Springfield Police are present in Springfield Kabar-Sun that they do not receive reports of stolen or eaten animals.
Gov. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, held a news conference Tuesday to address the influx of Haitian immigrants into Springfield. He declined to address the allegations, deferring comment to local officials. But DeWine has repeatedly spoken out in support of the people of Haiti, where her family has long done charity work.
What do we know about a separate case 175 miles (281 km) away?
An unrelated incident that happened last month in Canton, Ohio, quickly and wrongly joined the discussion.
On Aug. 26, Canton police charged a 27-year-old woman with animal cruelty and disorderly conduct after she “tortured, killed, and ate a cat in a residential area in front of (a) crowd of people,” according to police. report.
But Alexis Ferrell is not Haitian. He was born in Ohio and graduated from Canton’s McKinley High School in 2015, according to public records and newspaper reports. Court records show he has been in and out of legal trouble since at least 2017. Messages seeking comment were not returned by several attorneys who have represented him.
He is being held in the Stark County Jail pending a competency hearing next month, according to the prosecutor’s office.
What do advocates for Haitian immigrants say? The posts create a false and potentially dangerous narrative for Haitians in the United States, according to Guerline Jozef, founder and executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, a group that supports and advocates for immigrants of African descent.
“We will always receive all kinds of narratives and barbaric, inhumane treatment, especially when it comes to immigration,” Jozef said in a phone interview.
His comments echoed White House national security spokesman John Kirby.
“There are people who believe it, no matter how ridiculous and stupid it is,” Kirby said. stop.” What is the broader context of Haitians in Ohio and the United States, the city of about 60,000 inhabitants, has increased the Haitian population in recent years the county has an overall immigrant population of 15,000.
The city also said the Haitian immigrants are in the country legally under a federal program that allows them to stay in the country temporarily. Last month, the Biden administration granted the right to temporary legal status to about 300,000 Haitians already in the United States because conditions in Haiti were deemed unsafe to return. The Haitian government has increased the state of emergency throughout the country due to endemic gang violence.
Another issue that Trump developed and raised in Monday’s email was the August 2023 death of an 11-year-old boy after a vehicle driven by an immigrant from Haiti crashed into the boy’s school bus. After that, residents demanding answers about the immigrant community spoke at a city council meeting.
Published – 11 September 2024 08:24 IST